"Your own resolution to success is more important than any other one thing," wrote Abraham Lincoln, and it's easy to believe he was right.
From the first of January this year, I've been trying to make daily Qi Gong a practice of my own, and where and when I have a chance to introduce it to others as well -- combat vets with PTSD, or MST and PSTD -- I do. And they seem to like it, much as I do.
There are many good personal practices, from meditation, to yoga, to T'ai chi, to Qi Gong, to spirituality. The important point is to find one, and practice it.
Back in the days when I wrote about health and medicine for a living, I remember comments practitioners would make about patients they had who took little personal responsibility for their own health. It was almost as though they saw their bodies -- and accompanying aches and pains -- as suits of clothing they could take off, hand to a health care practitioner for "fixing" -- and get back when the practitioner was done. The practitioners who expressed their frustration with this type of patient were alluding to what they were missing: the sense that they played a very important role in their own health, and not to overlook that, or overly and unnecessarily abdicate their own responsibility there in favor of investing too much authority (and wisdom) in the practitioner. Not every practitioner is that humble or insightful, of course, but the frequency of this observation made an impression on me.
A few months ago I was at a retreat for veterans and their families, many of whom came seeking "tools" to help with their fairly-apparent but mostly-undiscussed PTSD. They were frustrated that the tools seemed to be missing from the retreat, whose focus was community-building, instead. But what I noticed was that when the tools were offered -- meditation and qi gong were -- few vets took advantage of them, even or especially among the ones who complained the loudest. Older vets, yes, and family members did; but not the youngest, most vocal vets. Among the older ones, though, who perhaps had been waiting longer in the wings for help that wasn't forthcoming, there appeared to be more humility and openness. One vet enjoyed the peace that qi gong was bringing him from his emotional woes; another enjoyed how meditation gave him space to quit focusing on a chronic, painful physical ailment quite so much.
Which brings me back to the low-key delightful function of creating room for a personal practice in your day. No matter what you choose, it's one more way to take responsibility back for your own well-being, and do something that can only add to your overall peace of mind, sense of purpose and discipline. Frequently, it can also help with stress management, which in turn raises immunity. So doing well (and staying well) by doing good...for yourself...is a real possibility. Explore some personal practices that can help add life to your life today. You'll be glad you made the effort.
Editor's note: This is my outdoor qi gong "studio" -- a DVD on a chair. And it's lovely.
© 2010 by Lily Casura / Healing Combat Trauma. All rights reserved. Use with attribution.
